Cam for knitting machines



O. FREGEOLLE Filed May 13, 1945 CAM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Jan. 25; 1944.

F I G. 3.

. It 4 4 I [All/M70191.

15 dwwmiiezceazzg Patent ed 18.11.25, i944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECAM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Oscar Fregeolle, Central Falls, R. I.,assignor to Hemphill Company, CentralFalls, R. 1., a. corporation ofMassachusetts Application May 13, 1943, Serial No. 486,802

2 Claims.

This case deals with a safety cam construction for knitting machinessuch as circular, independent needle knitting machines. dles, jacks orother instrumentalities in machines of the type concerned, the selectingmovement is frequently divided into two parts, one of which merely movesthe instrumentalities from a position in which they would not contact acam for imparting the secondary movement to a position in which theywill contact that cam, and the second part of the movement, one in whichthe instrumentalities which have been primarily selected are movedthroughout a considerable extent to perform their intended function.

In machines such as Banner type hosiery machines the instrumentalitiesto be selected frequently have a pluralityof removable selective buttsand a master butt. The selective butts are broken away according topattern requirements and those selective butts which are'left intact areengaged by one or more selecting instruments or plungers. Theseselecting instruments or plungers are moved to and from an active butt:ngaging position according to a predetermined pattern.

The second movement imparted to instrumentalities of this type ispreferably by means of a socalled master cam engagable with the masterbutt. Each of the instrumentalities will have one of said master buttsand the construction is such that as a preliminary selective movement isimparted, the master butt will be so positioned as to engage and bemoved by the master cam. Otherwise, under normal operation, the masterbutt will pass the master cam without engagement.

Upon changing the position of the selecting means or plungers engageablewith the selective butts, it is frequently unavoidable that one of theseplungers will be removed at such a time as to leave a selectedinstrumentality in a position somewhere between its non-selected and acompletely selected position as the latter would be determined afterpassing the primary selecting mechanism. Such a condition gives rise toin-- terference between the master butt and the master cam. If themaster cam is solidly mounted, the butt will be broken upon engagementwith the ,point of the cam, however, to avoid that, the

master cam is customarily retained in position by spring means and is tomove out on improper engagement with any of the master butts. The springfor maintaining the master cam in position must be fairly strong toavoid unintended cam movement, but if it has too much tension, butts Inselecting neemay be broken rather than the cam moving out as intended.

To avoid the above mentioned difliculties, the applicant has devised asafety cam functioning between the primary and the secondary selectingstages, this safety c'am being very easily moved upon engagement by oneof the master butts and functioning to return those instruments thebutts of which are left in a half-way position by the primary selectingmovement to a position in which they will safely pass beneath the mastercam. Thus this,safety cam has the advantage of providing a very easymovement which cannot result inbreaking butts, also assures thatpartially selected instruments will be returned to a non-selectedposition.

.In the figures of drawing:

' Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, certain parts being shown in section,illustrating a typical selecting means for needle jacks to which thesafety cam has been applied;

Fig. 2 is a section taken through the needle cylinder and cam mechanismshowing a jack butt passing below the safety cam;

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2, but showing the manner in which acompletely selected jack is elevated so that its -master butt passesabove the safety cam;

Fig.5 is similar to Figs. 2 and 3 showing master butts being drawn downby the safety cam.

The invention is illustrated by showing as a .typical example a simpleselecting 'means for needle jacks. It is to be understood that itapplies to control of any type of knitting instrumentality so long asthat instrumentality has a selective movement imparted thereto and at acertain point in that selective movement,

a change is made whereby the selected instrumentality may be left in anintermediate position. The cam applies to each individual selectingmeans, and if there are more than a single selection of theinstrumentalities for each complete cycle, then as many safety cams asare necessary are provided.

Now referring to Fig. 1, a jack I has a plurality of selecting butts 2and. a master butt 3. That ,jack alsohas a butt 4 by means of which itis any desired manner preferably by being broken away asis now thecommon practice. For each of the butts 2 there is provided a selectingplunger and these plungers are maintained in proper alignment to beengaged by their respective selective butts in the event the plungeris-in active position and one of the butts 2 is left on the jack at thatposition. 2' When selected by one of these plungers, the 'path travelledby one of the butts 2 indicated at line 5 changes to a slightly higherelevation as' shown by line 1. The master butt 3 follows a parallelpathway first at line 8 and then at line 9.

Master cam is so positioned and constructed that the master butts 3 onlymay contact it and if those buttsmove in line 8, they pass beneath thecam, that is, do not have any selecting movement whatsoever. If a jackis primarily selected by one of the plungers 5 so that the master buttthen moves along line 9, that master butt will be raised by cam Hi tothe elevation at line H. The cam i2 is the usual raise cam and thatlevels the master butts prior to approaching the selecting plungers.

If in withdrawing one of the plungers 5 at a time when one of the butts2 has travelled only part way along that plunger, or for any otherreason, a master butt 3 will approach the point of cam H1 at anelevation somewhere between lines 8 and 9 so that it would neithertravel below nor would it ride up the cam as intended, the safety campresently to be described functions to move that butt and the jack to aposition so that the butt will pass beneath cam Ill. The safety cam isconstructed as illustrated and has a cam portion l3 projecting inwardlyat the upper end of a body portion l4 pivoted to swing about the pin IS.The pin I5 passes through a plate l6 and into the raise cam I2. A sortof groove or slot is formed in the raise cam and the body portion 14 ofthe safety cam is so designed that as shown in Fig. 1, the groove actsas a stop preventing movement of the cam toward the plungers 5 and inthe other direction as shown in Fig. 4, prevents movement oppositely orin the direction of cam I0. A spring II'attaches at a fixed point and tothe upper end of the safety cam maintaining it in the position of Fig. 1except as contacted by one of the butts 3 at which time it swings to theposition of Fig. 4.

The cam portion I3 is bevelled at about the same angle as the top of abutt 3 and is also bevelled at the forward edge and at its rear part soas to guide butts downwardly beneath the cam no matter whatthe directionof approach of passing jacks and their butts.

butts pass at one time, the first will swing the cam i3 to the positionof Fig. 4 and it will remain in that attitude until all of those buttshave the butts 4 and will lower jacks which have been The pivot l5 istothe right of the cam part i3,

Figs. 1 and 4, and that causes the cam l3 when engaged by "one of thebutts 3 to swing to the position of Fig.4 and thereby to rise and toassume an inclined attitude. is in such a position that a butt 3 ridingalong the raise cam and whose jack-is-not aifected by anyone of theplungers 5 will pass beneath cam I3, Big. 2'. Selected jacks. will beelevated to such an extent that their butts 3 will move above the cami3, see line 9 and Fi 3. H

When contacted by a butt moving at an intermediate position, the camwill be swung to the right,1,Fig. 4, thereby elevatingv the front edgeof thecam above the top'of the butt whereupon that: butt will thenbeJoWered sufliciently so that it must pass beneath cam-ill. Such actionis illustrated in Fig. 5 and the path one of the butts 3 wotild thusfollow is showfiii Fig; '4. If several '60 Normally cam 13 primarilyselected, but which are not to complete that selecting movement. Thiscam functions in advance of cam l3 so that all butts 3 on jacks havingone'of the butts 4 and while cam 18 is active, will pass beneath cam 13.I

For reciprocatory work the cam I3 is so beveled that butts passing inreverse strokes are guided beneath the cam and thus there is no improperfunctioning or interference atthat time.

The invention has been described by reference to one specific embodimentofthe' same, but it is to be understood that many variations may beresorted to without departing from the scope of the invention asoriginally conceived. The ap plication to 'jacks of the type-shown ismerely instrumentalities "are I f equally well controlled, also theselecting butts" themselves may be of other shape, for example,

illustrative and other may be square or rectangular in shape rather thanof saw-tooth construction. Circular ma chines are only one type ofknitting machine to which the invention applies and it may equally wellbe used in straight machines or in any other type machines whereinstrumentalities are selected and the instrumentalities and cams haverelative movement. The invention islimited only by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a knitting machine, the combination of instrumentalities havingselecting butts and a master butt, selecting means for said firstmentioned butts and a fixed master cam engageable with said masterbutts, a safety cam positioned between said selecting means andsaidmaster cam and having a cam surface sloping downwardly toward saidmaster cam, said safety cam also being pivoted so "that its cam surfacecan swing upwardlyand toward said master cam in order that anymaster-butts positioned so as to instrumentalities having selectingbutts and a master butt, a plurality oftselecting plungers. operable onselecting butts and a master. cam" engageable with the master butts, theconstruction being such that the withdrawaiof a plunger may leave one ormorelof the master butts in such position as. to contact improperlywitlrthe master cam, a safety cam between said plungers and master campivotedto swing in the .,direc-. tion of said masterca'm upon-contact,withany,

of said improperly positioned butta said safety cam also havingadownwardly slopingtcam sur- I face adapted to, rise when its end isengagedby'a butt untiT said butt m'oves from contactwith said end onto.said cam surface whereby; it,' is, ;gi 1i"' ed to a position in whichitwi ipassfu ea master SCAR,

